Addressing the snakebite challenge - progress towards the 2030 roadmap

This World Neglected Tropical Disease Day (World NTD Day), we have published a Special Issue on ‘Addressing the snakebite challenge - progress towards the 2030 roadmap’ in journal Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. Tom Pinfield, RSTMH Managing Editor, looks at what the articles show us about research into snakebite.

Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations in low - and middle - income countries.

Of the (around) 4000 known snake species, 700 are venomous and about 290 are considered medically important. Worldwide, 6.85 billion people live within the range of areas inhabited by snakes, and for 146.7 million of them, access to quality healthcare is challenging.

Nearly 7400 people are bitten each day, with 220–380 people dying as a result. Those that survive experience a range chronic physical and mental disabilities, including blindness, limb amputations, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The cost of snakebite envenoming is therefore huge, not least because those most at risk belong to poor communities that also face further societal challenges.

A broad and cross-cutting approach is essential if we are to identify modifiable risk factors for preventing snakebites and better understand the pathophysiology of snakebite envenoming, both of which are key to preventing and managing snakebite deaths and disability. Equally important is the development of local research capacity through funding and providing a publication platform for frontline researchers, as this provides a better understanding of the nuances and specifics of snakebite and snakebite envenoming in specific regions.

In this Special Issue, we present a range of articles from across the world and in particular from regions with the highest burden of snakebite. These articles incorporate a variety of study designs and span the translational pathway from basic science (T0) through translation to humans (T1), patients (T2), practice (T3) and community (T4). We are a proud of the diverse range of perspectives that we have included in this collection – both in terms of subject and geography - and are especially pleased to see the work of previous RSTMH Early Career Grant Awardees showcased within it.

However, whilst snakebite research is advancing quickly, it is also clear that we are very much in the early stages of understanding prevalence and piloting interventions in many high burden countries. Indeed, there is still much work to be done in order to generate the necessary evidence to help national programs to fully integrate snakebite and other NTDs at service level, but we hope that this work will act as a catalyst to maintain the current momentum towards reaching the 2030 goals.

With thanks to our Guest Editors: Dr Maya Gopalakrishnan (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur) and Dr Frank Tianyi (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine)

Read the full collection in Transactions here.